Help Lehigh clean up its community with $25K award

April 10, 2013

Help assist our neighborhood with $25,000 from State Farm to put toward the Lehigh Acres area that was hit very hard when the housing market went bust in 2008.

There were many homes under construction that were never finished. People lost their jobs, homes and even families fell apart.

Everyone seemed to lose their pride in the community we all loved so dearly. In many areas the neighborhood streets are lined with liter and construction debris.

Many residents, schools and businesses have worked very hard to change the physical image of the now deflated area that we all once knew as paradise.

We have teamed up and received donations for the last four years to create clean streets for local kids to be able to play on.

We have saved taxpayers more than $71,000 in services by removing more than 53 tons of trash that has filled more than 26 dumpsters out of these neighborhoods by local volunteers.

Our efforts are to get the residents to feel proud of their neighborhoods so that kids can play and parents won't be afraid of what they will find along side of their streets.

We will engage residents with block parties to create a sense of pride and allowing them to locate services and create Neighborhood watch groups to increase their quality of life.

The $25,000 would be used to create each cleanup as an event where the residents will come out and participate in removing the blight form their streets.

We will have all the supplies needed for the clean up by purchasing the gloves, trash collection sticks and safety vests.

Residents will be able to get information about local self-sufficiency programs and education on current topics that are affecting our community.

There will be food for families in need to take home from our partnership with our local Community Services center and information on how to start a neighborhood watch/crime watch to keep their homes and families safe.

The lasting impact will be the community efficacy that will generate pride and cleaner streets. It will also allow families that are struggling financially to receive tools to become more self-sufficient.

The efforts will allow the community to transform its image one neighborhood at a time to create a beautiful place to live work and play.